To score or not to score, that is the question LSU's Nick Brossette has been answering

LSU running back Nick Brossette celebrates with teammate Austin Deculus after scoring a touchdown in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arkansas, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)(Photo: Michael Woods, AP)

BATON ROUGE — Apparently, there is another "conspiracy" in the Southeastern Conference.

And this one does not involve Alabama.

Those who bet on 13-point favorite LSU and gave Arkansas the 13 points Saturday night lost money because the Tigers won by only, 24-17, which was a 30-24 loss if you bet on LSU and gave the points.

But the bettors who took LSU and gave the points easily could have won by 31-17 — or 31-30 including the point spread — had LSU scored in the final moments after reaching inside the Arkansas 10-yard line with just over a minute to play in the game.

Instead, LSU tailback Nick Brossette slid down on purpose at the Arkansas 7-yard line following a 16-yard run for a first down with a clear path to a touchdown with 1:08 to go. Then Brossette gained six yards on the next play and could have scored again, but he fell down again with 28 seconds to go at the 1-yard line. Arkansas had no timeouts. The clock ran out. And LSU won.

Was Brossette shaving points because he bet on Arkansas and took the points? If so, he and any of his teammates or coaches who made the same bet won 30-24.

That is not what happened, but some people believe it is — most likely those who lost money on the game.

"I demand an investigation of Nick Brossette for obvious point shaving that just took place," a person said via Twitter at 10:02 p.m. Saturday shortly after the game ended.

"That alone should merit an investigation by the feds (Federal Bureau of Investigation)," another person tweeted at 10:05 p.m. "Nick Brossette 100 percent had money on the game."

What happened was LSU was playing it extremely safe, and this has happened with other teams in the past. Had Brossette scored with 1:08 to play when he slid down at the 7-yard line or when he fell down at the 1-yard line with 28 seconds to play, Arkansas would have been down 31-17, but it could have taken over with enough time — conceivably — to score a touchdown, recover its onside kick, and score again to tie or go for two.

LSU elected instead to run the clock out and not let Arkansas touch the ball.

"We sit on the ball. We win the game," LSU coach Ed Orgeron explained Monday at his press conference. "That's what we teach them to do. Nick did what he was taught to do. We call it the winning edge."

LSU actually routinely has its tailbacks fall down or slide down on purpose in such situations at practice.

"We practice that week in and week out," Brossette said Monday. "That's just being aware of the surroundings of the game. That's just smart football. I was supposed to go down and run the time out so we could go home with a big win on the road."

In a similar situation on Oct. 28 in the NFL, Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley had a clear path to the end zone against Green Bay with a 29-27 lead late in the game. And — much like Brossette — he fell down on purpose at the Rams' 4-yard line after a 17-yard run for a first down with about a minute to play as Green Bay had no timeouts. The Rams ran out the clock with a kneel by quarterback Jared Goff on the next play, and it was over.

No risk of kicking to Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who conceivably had enough time to throw a touchdown and get the ball back from an onside kick for a game-winning field goal.

"Yeah, definitely, everybody does it," Brossette said. "You saw Todd Gurley do it a few weeks ago. So we were really just trying to go home with the win."

But this is where LSU did it a little differently. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow didn't kneel on the Arkansas 1-yard line as Goff did on the Green Bay 4-yard line for the Rams in the same situation. After Brossette's second fall down on purpose, Orgeron changed his mind. With 28 seconds to go and the clock ticking, he told offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger he now wanted a touchdown and nicer score for the poll voters. Voters in the College Football Playoff poll, which comes out Tuesday night, do use what is called the "eye test" on teams. And 31-17 looks better than 24-17.

And there would be much less time for a potential Arkansas miracle than had Brossette scored on the previous two slide plays.

"I said, 'Man, I think we can score,'" Orgeron said Monday. "And Steve said, 'It's up to you, coach.' So, I'm the one. I said, 'You know what, let's put seven more points on the board. Let's see if we can score.'"

So Brossette got the call with directions to score this time.

"That's when they told me to score — on the third time," Brossette said laughing. "So, yes. I was like, 'All right, I'm going to score.' The first two times I was looking at the clock."

This time, though, Arkansas did not cooperate, and on 2nd-and-goal from the Arkansas 1, Brossette got clocked for no gain. Game over.

Soon, Brossette started hearing from angry bettors on his and his teammates' Twitter accounts and through other social media avenues.

"Yeah, it was crazy," he said. "I mean I didn't know anything about it until I got in the locker room. I really didn't realize how much money goes into betting and stuff like that. It is what it is. I'm just trying to win the ball game. We practice that every week. That was the only thing on my mind."

Some of the Twitter messages to Brossette got ugly, so he responded by posting a picture of himself smiling ear to ear.

"Sliding on all you haters," he tweeted Saturday night.

"People will say what they want to say," Brossette said Monday. "I came to LSU to win. I didn't come here to win people's bets. I just want to win football games."

Brossette, a senior from University High on the LSU campus, will play his last LSU home game Saturday night when the No. 7 Tigers (8-2, 5-2 SEC) host 44-point underdog Rice (1-10, 0-7 Conference USA) at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU. With two games to play, he is 208 yards away from a 1,000-yard season.

He would like to be remembered for that — not for sliding just short of touchdowns twice at Arkansas.

"Aw man, I don't want to leave my legacy like that," he said. "I mean, I was just doing what the coaches told me to do. Hopefully, people won't think of that. I'm having a good season right now, so hopefully people will think otherwise. I know it was big, but I was really just doing what the coaches told me to do and trying to go home with a win."

He has been asked a lot about it over the last two days.

"So, I just have to tell them," he said. "But some people, they already realized it. If you're a fan of football and you watch it a lot, then you realized what was going on."

INJURY REPORT: LSU starting cornerback Kristian Fulton (leg) will not play Saturday night against Rice after getting injured at Arkansas.

"He's out," Orgeron said Monday. "I don't know how long he's out, but he's going to be out for a while."

LSU closes the season at Texas A&M (6-4, 4-3 SEC) on Nov. 24.

Starting nose tackle Breiden Fehoko is also expected to miss the Rice game, but may be ready for Texas A&M, Orgeron said. Starting safety John Battle, who missed the Arkansas game with an injury, "may be able to play" against Rice, Orgeron said.